Anyone using KW-V1s on their RS6?

[TMAC]

I have used KW-V1s on several vehicles in the past. I see KW makes both the V1 and V3 for the RS6. Based on the weight of the car I am curious how the preset damping feels on the V1.
Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks.

[DHall1]

Cant help with V1 but for my daily I have H&R sport coilovers. Excellent ride quality at a fair price.

V3 on my other car is firmer but also 2.5x the price

[Bigglezworth]

KW V1 are the same as ST Coilovers I do believe except that the KW have SS bodies vs. ST's anodized steel. As for dampening - they are lackluster and there is no way to adjust... I elected to try out the ST's on the one beast here for the past while. Suffice to say, it's not my bag. I feel like I should have fuzzy dice hanging from my mirror and be blasing out rap crap from the speakers... The spring rates aren't as good as the OEM RS6 and rebound - poor to nil. If you like that kind of a ride, then V1 is for you, but if you want something that is equal or possibly better than the OEM DRC from a spring rate and dampening perspective, you need to go with a V3 or similar. Personally, I'm going to look at ripping the ST's out in the next few weeks and putting in a set of Koni Yellow Sports with OEM springs.

[TMAC]

KW V1 are the same as ST Coilovers I do believe except that the KW have SS bodies vs. ST's anodized steel. As for dampening - they are lackluster and there is no way to adjust... I elected to try out the ST's on the one beast here for the past while. Suffice to say, it's not my bag. I feel like I should have fuzzy dice hanging from my mirror and be blasing out rap crap from the speakers... The spring rates aren't as good as the OEM RS6 and rebound - poor to nil. If you like that kind of a ride, then V1 is for you, but if you want something that is equal or possibly better than the OEM DRC from a spring rate and dampening perspective, you need to go with a V3 or similar. Personally, I'm going to look at ripping the ST's out in the next few weeks and putting in a set of Koni Yellow Sports with OEM springs.

That's what I was looking for, an honest opinion of how these work on the car. I appreciate it Bigglezworth.

[mik15]

i too had the ST coilovers on my previous RS6 and in terms of comfort it was good, softer than the DRC, however just like Biggle said, the rebound didn't feel quite right and in tight turns the body roll was higher, now i am sure that can be addressed with a pair of arbs, but the rebound issue is something you have to live with.

It didn't bother me that much as i would only use the car for regular driving and only did a track day with it, so i wasn't too fussed about it.
Now that i have a properly working DRC i can say that the difference is quite huge and probably there is no regular suspension that can beat a good working DRC, not even a KW3 which i tested extensively on my friend's RS6 and honestly i dislike it for its lack of comfort, it does provide good handling but it comes with a harsh ride all the time which makes squeaks and rattles to come up in the car on poor road surfaces, and that bothers me a whole lot more than a poor rebounding rate, so much more that i wouldn't live with it, i am probably obsessed with having no strange noises in the car and i can probably hear every little creak and squeak, imaginary or not :) .

My advice would be not to invest your money in a KW3 unless you're really pushing hard the car or doing track days, otherwise the Koni set up is i think the best compromise around.

[fukinavit]

KW V1 are the same as ST Coilovers I do believe except that the KW have SS bodies vs. ST's anodized steel. As for dampening - they are lackluster and there is no way to adjust... I elected to try out the ST's on the one beast here for the past while. Suffice to say, it's not my bag. I feel like I should have fuzzy dice hanging from my mirror and be blasing out rap crap from the speakers... The spring rates aren't as good as the OEM RS6 and rebound - poor to nil. If you like that kind of a ride, then V1 is for you, but if you want something that is equal or possibly better than the OEM DRC from a spring rate and dampening perspective, you need to go with a V3 or similar. Personally, I'm going to look at ripping the ST's out in the next few weeks and putting in a set of Koni Yellow Sports with OEM springs.

interesting. My new to me RS6 has a perfectly good functioning DRC (at the moment) I really think the ride is great although not the ride height. My A6 has the st's on and while I ilke the adjustability, the ride is harsh. So these yellow koni's you mention with the stock springs, do these alter the ride height at all or retain stock height?

[lswing]

Just a bit lower than DRC with the Koni Yellows and stock springs. Very nice ride and great price...Google "site:rs6.com Koni yellows", there are extensive threads.

[Cmnair]

Just reviving this thread since my new to me RS6 came with KW V1s. Agree with the posters here..there is no rebound and it feels like the car is riding on the bump stops. One of the KW struts is also leaking and I need to replace it anyway.

The previous owner did include the DRCs with the car (no idea what the condition is). I am thinking of putting those back on. How much of a PITA is that? Or the other option is Koni Yellows with stock springs.

One of the factors is that my wife will be driving it a lot till October and she hates the ride with the KW V1s.

[lswing]

Koni yellows, excellent smooth ride, bit firm, just leave at softest setting. Still very sporty and smooth ride, simple, solid. Probably my favorite most reliable cost effective mod.

[Cmnair]

Thanks....might go that path. So you don't recommend trying the DRC at all?

[lswing]

Cost and simplicity for me. DRC can be great, but putting it together correctly can be hit and miss and costly, then possible issues down the road.

[Bigglezworth]

Just reviving this thread since my new to me RS6 came with KW V1s. Agree with the posters here..there is no rebound and it feels like the car is riding on the bump stops. One of the KW struts is also leaking and I need to replace it anyway.

The previous owner did include the DRCs with the car (no idea what the condition is). I am thinking of putting those back on. How much of a PITA is that? Or the other option is Koni Yellows with stock springs.

One of the factors is that my wife will be driving it a lot till October and she hates the ride with the KW V1s.Ensure the struts are the Gen2 models with the revised seals. Useless paperweights otherwise.... DRC performs as good or better than any of the aftermarket coilovers IMO. The only problem with the system is that the Gen1 version lost faith in a plethora of people that own these cars. That coupled with a seeming endless supply of Audi techs that have no clue on how to service the system and ensure appropriate ride height without preloading the control arm bushings. Of the rides I have here, the one with the OEM springs and the Gen2 struts performs the best hands down. The one that performs the worst has KW-V1's.

As a side note, I never had a problem with any of the struts on my DRC. All of my problems were with the lines (each time on the front). Both of the flexible hoses that ran from the chassis to the strut 'rusted' out and blew. I don't know which engineer thought it would be a good idea to rubber coat some SS braided lines, but once salts and water get inside the cracks that form on rubber hoses that are a number of years old, they fester, rust out the metal braiding, and then the hose bursts. This then becomes a large repair bill as you simply can't swap out a blown line for a replacement without purchasing from Audi. Audi rapes you for the line - 16" hose costs BIG $$$. Criminal in fact. I tried to have lines made at a local hydraulic supply shop and they simply didn't have the correct fittings or diameter for hoses. Lines are larger ID than brake lines to handle the quicker transfer of fluid. Not something the hydraulic company had.

Anyway, another option that appears to have merit is that of the yellow Koni Sport's 82-2516's & 82-2526's with OEM spring rates. You can control initial set-up for dampening and have some minor adjustment height settings for perches to lower your ride a bit.

[Cmnair]

Thank you Bigglezworth....the DRC had the recall done around 09-10 (I know that does not guarantee anything) but the PO switched to the KW V1s pretty soon after the recall work. I have the OEM struts and springs sitting in a box, is there a way to tell if the struts are Gen 2? My car is a later VIN October 2003 build if that helps.

Might just throw on the Koni Yellows with stock springs like you suggested.

[Bigglezworth]

VIN # has nothing to do with whether or not the ride has Gen1 or Gen 2 dampers on it. MOST people that still had DRC at time of 'recall' had their dampers swapped. A good number already had their DRC ripped out and aftermarket solutions installed instead. Gen2 dampers 'should' have a green sticker on them (each set I have here does at least including those still on a car, and the one set I removed from a car). You should also be able to go to your local dealer and confirm whether or not the DRC recall was done on your ride by providing them your VIN #. It's straight forward to reinstall the DRC strut assembly as long as all the hydraulic plumbing lines and actuators are still in place and in good condition. The thing with a hydraulic system is that you can't tell on condition of operation until you hook everything up and pressurize it. Unless you have access to the special filling fitting and a suitable pressure tank, you will need to rely on a stealership to perform the work for you. They will charge you a minimum of 2L of oil (likely more because your system was dry) and at least 1 hour of shop time (should be more) to recharge. You can perform all the installation of struts yourself and still drive the car, but don't drive too far as your dampers are void of fluid and will clatter. Short distance will not cause them harm.

[Cmnair]

Thanks good info..will check the struts

[TMAC]

I am still debating what I want to go with for my car. Based on all the feedback and my research KW-V1s are not in the cards. I am however considering the Bilsteins. We shall see.

[G2]

Have KW 3's on and would agree it's on the aggressive side of the spectrum. Tried softening the ride and just made it worst- very bad crashing on bumps. Had my race friend drive it and he ordered about 50% more compression and rebound damping. It was so much that I almost didn't believe him, but cranked up the compression. Voila the car rode so much better. It's still not perfect, as more adjustments are needed. The Rebound setting is a quite the ordeal- either drill the body for access or R&R the shocks until you're happy.

Every time I change tires, go chasing after the ideal damping. It's always a moving target. The new PSS's make life much easier with the soft if not borderline squishy ride. As most know by now tires are an integral part of suspension tuning. The KW 3's may be the best kit for the money, but be prepared to spend some time sorting it out to suit your wants. Albeit aggressive ones. With our smooth roads it works pretty well.

Ohlins next time?

[NSU RS6]

interesting. My new to me RS6 has a perfectly good functioning DRC (at the moment) I really think the ride is great although not the ride height. My A6 has the st's on and while I ilke the adjustability, the ride is harsh. So these yellow koni's you mention with the stock springs, do these alter the ride height at all or retain stock height?

Get around the ride height. What works is what works. I will go with stock springs and Koni's. With the front lip spoiler, lower is not an option.

Koni's rock. BTDT for thirty + years and have never been disappointed. There is enough feedback on this list to get it set right. Myself? My DRC is fine. When it goes? On go the Koni's I bought on a Tire Rack 25% off sale.

[Primo]

Hey dude, I have KWV1's on my RS6, had them for two years, simply awesome and soooooo much better than DRC! The V3's are mainly for track use, according to KW. I'm not spending any time on the track, so I went for the V1's and I don't regret it.

15999

[mik15]

better when it comes to reliability, otherwise a classical suspension is not any other way better for a daily driven car with a sportive note such as the RS6 barge :)